06 — Mariology
The Marian theology of St. John of Damascus (c. 675–749): the three homilies on the Dormition of the Theotokos preached at Gethsemane, the most influential patristic witness to the feast of August 15; and his systematic Marian doctrine, in which the title Theotokos is the hinge of the whole Christological mystery. This section reads the homilies and the dogmatic prose together, pinning the setting tradition, noting the Euthymiac History interpolation honestly, and aligning throughout with the repository’s verified Marian material.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
John of Damascus is, with St. Andrew of Crete and St. Germanus of Constantinople, one of the three eighth-century Fathers who gave the Dormition feast its classic theological shape, and he is the most systematic Marian theologian of the patristic age. His Mariology is of a piece with his Christology: every Marian affirmation exists to secure the truth about Christ, exactly as the verified Theotokos file states the principle.
Two files divide the material: the three Dormition homilies — their setting, content, the interpolation question, and their place in the August 15 feast; and his systematized Marian doctrine — the Theotokos title as the hinge of Christology, the Nativity-of-the-Theotokos homily, his mediation language, and the perpetual-virginity defense — cross-linked to the Orthodox/Catholic divergences and consistent with the repository’s existing citations of the Exact Exposition. The homilies are quoted from Brian Daley’s Popular Patristics translation; the dogmatic passages are cited by book and chapter and anchored to the public-domain NPNF II/9, per the Methodology.
Files in this Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Dormition Homilies | The three homilies preached at Gethsemane: Mary’s death and translation, what John affirms and how he frames the mystery; the Euthymiac History interpolation noted honestly; key passages per Daley (PPS); and the homilies’ place in the theology of the August 15 feast. |
| Marian Theology | His Marian doctrine systematized: Theotokos as the hinge of Christology (Exposition III.12); the Nativity of the Theotokos homily; his mediation language — what he says and does not, with the Orthodox/Catholic divergences cross-linked; and the perpetual-virginity defense (Exposition IV.14). |
See Also
- 05 — Hymnography — the festal canons, the other half of John’s festal corpus
- Orthodoxy: The Theotokos — the verified Marian dogmatics this section is consistent with
- Orthodoxy: The Great Feasts — the Dormition feast of August 15
- Orthodoxy: Orthodox vs. Catholic — the Marian-dogma divergences
References
- John of Damascus. On the Dormition of Mary: Early Patristic Homilies. Translated by Brian E. Daley, S.J. Popular Patristics Series 18. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998.
- John of Damascus. Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Books III–IV. Trans. S. D. F. Salmond, NPNF II/9.
- Louth, Andrew. St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
- The Festal Menaion. Translated by Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware. London: Faber & Faber, 1969.